30 Days of Kindness Books for Kids
Thanksgiving is the time of year when our thoughts should turn to togetherness, unity, and appreciation for each other and our love towards our family and friends. It's a great time to share these ideas with your kids and explore what it means to be a kid and thoughtful person and to help out and celebrate the season I've put together a list of 30 books from our Youth Services collection that show off these ideas of thankfulness, empathy and kindness:
♦ Picture Books ♦
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An empowering tale about connecting with others and choosing kindness over bullying, and shows children how angry and provocative words can be overcome by empathy and courage. |
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Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. Why doesn’t he have an iPod like the boys on the bus? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? |
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The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig & Patrice Barton Meet Brian, the invisible boy. Nobody ever seems to notice him or think to include him in their group, game, or birthday party... until, that is, a new kid comes to class. |
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Enemy Pie by Derek Munson & Tara Calahan King It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy! In this funny yet endearing story one little boy learns an effective recipe for turning a best enemy into a best friend. |
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A Sick Day For Amos McGee by Phillip C. Stead & Erin E. Stead Amos McGee, a friendly zookeeper, always made time to visit his good friends: the elephant, the tortoise, the penguin, the rhinoceros, and the owl. But one day—"Ah-choo!"—he woke up with the sniffles and the sneezes. Though he didn't make it into the zoo that day, he did receive some unexpected guests. |
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Everyone in the neighborhood dreams of a taste of Omu's delicious stew! One by one, they follow their noses toward the scrumptious scent. And one by one, Omu offers a portion of her meal. Soon the pot is empty. Has she been so generous that she has nothing left for herself? |
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Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller & Jen Hill When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate contemplates how to make her feel better and what it means to be kind. |
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The One Day House by Julia Durango & Bianca Diaz Wilson dreams of all the ways he can help improve his friend Gigi’s house so that she’ll be warm, comfortable, and happy. |
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What Does It Mean To Be Kind? by Rena DiOrio & Stephane Jorisch DiOrio shows that every act of kindness is also an act of courage, and how small gestures can make a big difference to other people, animals, the planet, and even oneself. |
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Say Please, Little Bear by Peter Bently & Robert McPhillips Daddy bear shows Little Bear how much fun sharing, taking turns and being helpful can be. Say Please, Little Bear is a warm and touching story exploring the importance of friendship and sharing. |
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One Love by Cedella Marley Booker, Bob Marley & Venessa Brantley-Newton Adapted from one of Bob Marley's most beloved songs, One Love brings the joyful spirit and unforgettable lyrics of his music to life for a new generation. Readers will delight in dancing to the beat and feeling the positive groove of change when one girl enlists her community to help transform her neighborhood for the better. |
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Don't Say a Word, Mama by Joe Hayes & Esau Andrade Valencia The two women live near their mother—Rosa with her husband and children, Blanca by herself. They both have flourishing gardens. Rosa and Blanca are so generous and kind and thoughtful—well, everyone, including Mamá, ends up with too much corn, tomatoes, and red hot chiles! |
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The Cool Bean by Jory John & Pete Oswald Always on the sidelines, one bean unsuccessfully tries everything he can to fit in with the crowd—until one day the cool beans show him how it’s done. |
♦ Chapter Books ♦
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August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. |
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The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes & Louis Slobodkin Wanda Petronski is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. She claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t. When Wanda is pulled out of school one day, the class feels terrible, and classmate Maddie decides that she is "never going to stand by and say nothing again." |
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The One & Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate & Patricia Castelao In this story of friendship, art and hope, the gorilla Ivan finds new perspective after meeting the baby elephant Ruby...spurring him to make a change for the better. |
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare After moving to a Puritan community, the only place where Kit feels completely free is in the meadows, where she enjoys the company of the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and on occasion, her young sailor friend Nat. But when Kit's friendship with the "witch" is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger. |
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Blubber is a good name for her, the note from Wendy says about Linda. Jill crumples it up and leaves it on the corner of her desk. She doesn't want to think about Linda or her dumb report on the whale just now. Jill wants to think about Halloween. |
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Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece's class was deaf. Here she is different. She is sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. |
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Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats. |
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The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson & Garth Williams This is the delightfully warm and enjoyable story of an old Parisian named Armand, who relished his solitary life. Children, he said, were like starlings, and one was better off without them. But the children who lived under the bridge recognized a true friend when they met one, even if the friend seemed a trifle unwilling at the start. |
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. |
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Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. |
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Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn. Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter. |
♦ Young Adult Books ♦
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne If you start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy named Bruno. (Though this isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter one. |
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned. |
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. |
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Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick Two boys – a slow learner stuck in the body of a teenage giant and a tiny Einstein in leg braces – forge a unique friendship when they pair up to create one formidable human force. A wonderful story of triumph over imperfection, shame, and loss. |
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Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko The convicts we have are the kind other prisons don't want. I never knew prisons could be picky, but I guess they can. You get to Alcatraz by being the worst of the worst. Unless you're me. I came here because my mother said I had to. |
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A celebration of nonconformity; a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity--and the thrill and inspiration of first love. |
